The present invention relates to animal chews for dogs, cats and other related animals, and more particularly, to a molded, completely digestible, nutritious animal chew, which is uniquely enriched with vitamins, minerals and/or herb additives to facilitate the delivery of such ingredients to the animal through the chewing process. Such additives may be incorporated within starch, casein, protein/colloids and various other polymer resins.
A variety of disclosures exist pertaining to the development of edible dog chews that are digestible, nutritious along with a texture that can be individually adjusted to suit a wide variety of a dog""s preferences or needs. Attention is therefore directed to the following exemplary disclosures: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,180,161 xe2x80x9cHeat Modifiable Edible Dog Chew; 6,159,516 xe2x80x9cMethod of Molding Edible Starch; 6,126,978 xe2x80x9cEdible Dog Chewxe2x80x9d; 6,110,521 xe2x80x9cWheat and Casein Dog Chew with Modifiable Texturexe2x80x9d; 6,093,441 xe2x80x9cHeat Modifiable Peanut Dog Chewxe2x80x9d; 6,093,427 xe2x80x9cVegetable Based Dog Chewxe2x80x9d; 6,086,940 xe2x80x9cHigh Starch Content Dog Chewxe2x80x9d; 6,067,941 xe2x80x9cAnimal Chewxe2x80x9d; 6,056,991 xe2x80x9cTurkey and Rice Dog Chew With Modifiable Texturexe2x80x9d; 5,941,197 xe2x80x9cCarrot Based Dog Chewxe2x80x9d; 5,827,565 xe2x80x9cProcess for Making an Edible Dog Chewxe2x80x9d; 5,339,771 xe2x80x9cAnimal Chew Toy Containing Animal Meal; 5,240,720 xe2x80x9cDog Chew with Modifiable Texturexe2x80x9d; 5,200,212 xe2x80x9cDog Chew with Modifiable Texturexe2x80x9d. Attention is also directed to U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,474 entitled xe2x80x9cApplication for Patent for Nutriceutical Toyxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,283 entitled xe2x80x9cAnimal Chew Toy of Starch Material and Degradable Ethylene Copolymerxe2x80x9d.
While the above certainly contribute to the body of chew products available to an animal, there is nonetheless a need to improve on the above, particularly with respect to the delivery of vitamins and/or minerals and/or herbs to the animal to ensure complete and balanced nutrition.
In that context it is worth nothing that although nutritional diseases are not commonly seen in dogs and cats fed good-quality commercial rations, there still exists a need to make certain that such animals are provided with the appropriate overall vitamin and mineral supplements to insure proper health. For example, even with certain commercial rations, dogs may suffer from arthritis, in which case a glucosamine supplement may be useful. Furthermore, there have been reports of malnutrition in dogs and cats fed xe2x80x9cnaturalxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9corganicxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cvegetarian diets developed by their owners, and many published recipes have not been properly balanced using nutrient averages. See, The Merck Veterinary Manual, Eight Edition, Merck and Co. 1998, at 1624-16-43.
In addition, herbs have been more recently relied upon by humans as a dietary supplement to potentially provide health benefits such as lowering stress, fighting disease and bolstering immunity. To therefore advance health care for animals, there is a need to consider such herbs in a form that is enjoyable for pets to ingest.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a molded chew toy for an animal that, apart from providing edible and digestible characteristics, is enriched with vitamins/minerals and/or herbs to ensure that the animal""s comprehensive and proper nutritional needs are maintained. In addition, it is also an object of this invention to strategically incorporate the vitamins/minerals and or other types of herbs in the chew toy at those locations that are more commonly chewed upon by the animal in the course of the animal""s interaction with the chew toy.
A vitamin and/or mineral and/or herbal enriched molded animal chew toy. The vitamins, minerals and/or herbal additives are incorporated into the molded chew toy under conditions that minimize thermal degradation of such additives. The chew toy may be formed by combining resin, water and one or a plurality of said vitamins and/or minerals and/or herbs to form a mixture. The resin includes any and all resins that can be made to flow under conditions of elevated temperature and can be molded and cooled into a desired shape. Resins therefore include natural and/or synthetic macromolecules or polymeric type structures, including starch, casein, denatured and partially hydrolyzed collagen, thermoplastic polymers, and mixtures thereof.
In alternative embodiment, the present invention also broadly relates to an animal chew toy comprising denatured and partially hydrolyzed collagen. Such chew may optionally include a mixture of said denatured and partially hydrolyzed collagen with either casein, starch, vegetable matter, rawhide, peanut bits/flour, animal meal and/or any other thermoplastic resin. All of the chew toys herein may optionally include flavorings or food coloring.